Well-cleaner



A. SCHEURER.

WELL CLEANER.

APPLICAT'IQN FILED JUNE I. 1920.

Patented 111111.20, 1921.

UNITED. siri-vri-:sl

PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER scHEURER, or KANS-As CITY, Mussolini.

WELL-CLEANER.

Application filed June 1, 1920.

This invention relates to well cleaningdevices, such as devices designedfor the purpose of cleaning out wells of small diameter, for example,oil wells and the like, which occasionallyI require the use of somemeans for removingthe sand, dirt or like material therefrom, in order toremove the obstruction to the flow of the oil from -the well.

Accordingly l have devised a means for utilizing-a flow of liquid underpressure-by conducting the same to the bottom of the well where it iscaused to loosen up the deposits of dirt and other material obstructingthe flow of the oil, and thereupon carry this material along with theflow of the liquidto the top of the well by a separate path, and finallydischarge the same at any desired point. l

ln carrying out the invention, l provide a cleaning structure ofsuitably adapted form for location within the well casing at the bottomportion of the well, together with means for conducting` the necessaryfluid under pressure into this casing, as well as.

means for conducting said liquid, charged with the material, 'from saidcasing to the top of the Well.

With this general object in view, the invention will now be described'byreference to the accompanying drawing illustrating one form ofconstruction which I have devised for embodying the proposedimprovements, after which the novel features therein will beparticularly set forth and claimed.

ln the drawing:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view illustrating a well casingoccupying a well bore,

and equipped with a well cleaning device constructed in accordance withthe present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional detail view illustrating that portion ofthe improved device whichoccupies the lower end portion lof the wellcasing; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the lower end portion of the wellcleaning de vice, and showing a slightly modified form of said lower endportion.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented DML 2 0 1921.

serial No. 385,401. x

[Referring now to the drawing in detail, this illustrates the improvedwell cleaning construction in connection with the well casing 4occupying the bore 5, olf a well, such as the ordinary type of oil well,which the pump tubing has been removed from for well cleaning purposes.

To replace the pump tubing after the same has been removed, I provide acasing structure adapted to be let down into the bottom portion of thecasing 4;, and comprising a casing member 6 iitted with an a;proximately cylindrical bottom portion 7 having its main body portion ofa size substantially fitting the interior of the Well.

casing, the lower end of the casing section 7 belng open to the interiorof the well casing, as illustratedr'in Fig;A 2. The upper end of thecasing section 7 is slightly tapered, both inside and outside, so as toconverge the upward movement of the liquid flow inside said section 7,and also present and exterior face which provides no abrupt shoulderwhich might engage the lower end of the well casing (in case the devicewas lowered below the lower end of said well casing) and prevent theready withdrawal of the device therefrom.

The casing section 6 is tapered throughout its length in an upwarddirection, and at its upward end is attached toa pipe 8 of suitablediameter and leading to the top of the well where it may be providedwith a suitable discharge terminal 9 for deliver'- a control valve 15,as illustrated in Fig.I 1,

the remainder of said sections being of successively decreasing diameterconnected together by suitable coupling members 16.

The lowermost section 14 ofl the fluid supply pipes is of irregularlybent form for the purpose of passing the same through an opening 17provided in the `side of the cas ing section 6, so that this lowermostsection 14 is thus passed to the interior of the casing section ,6 andthence in a downward direction and -centrally through the casing section7, below the lower end thereof and into the vicinity of the bottom ofthewell as illustrated in Fig. 1. The successive reductions in the diameterof the supply pipe sections 14 results finally in the lowermost section14 being' of a considerably smaller diameter than that of the averagediameter zf the casing structure 6 7 as shown in In operation, after thedevice has been let down within the well casing into the positionillustrated in F ig. 1, the valve 15 is opened for the purpose ofallowing the liquid pressure `flow to enter the pipe sections 14 andflow into the` bottom portion of the well around the lower end of thecasing 4. The circulation of the liquid serves to effectually loosen upany deposits of sand, dirt and the like which may be obstructing theflow of the oil through the well casing, and the continuous flow of theliquid, under the head provided by the tank or reservoir 12, or otherpressure maintaining means, forces the liquid, with the depositssuspended therein, up through the casing structure 6--7 and through thedischarge conduit 8 and out through its discharge end 9 into the basinor receptacle. This operation is continued until the'liquid dischargedfrom the conduit 8-9 shows that comparatively little foreign matter isbeing carried off with the liquid flow. The construction of the liquidsupply pipes 14 of successively decreasing diameter in a downwarddirection enables a comparatively small quantity of water or otherliquid medium for maintaining the required cleaning movement through thecasing structure 6 7 while the upwardly tapered form of the said casingstructure 6 and 7 is such as to minimize the back pressure as much aspossible which would otherwise interfere with the discharge flow of theliquid with the dirt and sand mingled therewith. v

In the case of a comparatively shallow well, it may be remarked thatpart or all of the discharge pipes 8-9 might be komitted and thedischarge flow conducted off by way of the well casing 4 itself for atleast a part of the distance-from the upper end of the casing structure6--7 to the top of the well; this would allow a freer action andmovement for the small particles carried off in the discharge flow byaffording the same more space or clearance in the movement thereoftoward the top of the well casing.

In Fig. 3 of the drawing I have simply illustrated a modified form ofcasing section 7 for showing how the structure may be adapted to thedifferent sizes of well casings 4, the view in Fig. 3 showing the lowersection 7 as adapted to fit a casing 4 of substantially the samediameter as the lower end of the casing section 6.

While I have illustrated and described what I now regard as thepreferred form of construction for embodying my improvements, I desireto reserve the right to make such changes as may fairly fall within thescope of the following claim.'

What I claim is:

In a well cleaning device, an interior casing member having its lowerend portion open and adapted to fit snugly within the wall of the welland the remainder of said interior casing tapering gradually in thedirection of the upper end of said well, and a conduit member forconducting a flow of liquid under pressure to the vicinity of the lowerend of said well casing, said conduit member extending from the upperend ofthe well and through the wall of said casing member to theinterior thereof and below the lower end of said casing member.

In witness whereof I hereto afix my signature.

ALEXANDER SCHEURER.

